


Lingering Shadows

by alexcat



Category: Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms, Crusade
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 03:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1413751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Did you ever wonder what happened in the series Crusade?  Well, here are my answers to all the burning questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue and Searching

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank Larry for beta reading this one for me. I have wanted to tell this tale for a long time and decided that this is the time. It is based on an old story I wrote and very loosely on the canon set forth by JMS as canon for the remainder of the series. I stuck to canon as much as possible as well. Those of you who are fan of the short lived series will see many references to the series itself in little ways, especially Alwyn's golden dragons!

[](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/alexcat/media/Shadow_Banner_finalsmall.jpg.html)

~~~~

Prologue –

Galen knew more about what they all were doing and thinking than they would ever know. He even knew about the Box. The Apocalypse Box. He knew what it was, as much as anyone could know. And he knew that Gideon talked to it and even worse, listened to it. 

He knew that they would never find what they sought as long as Gideon went where the Box sent him. He had already talked to Alwyn, who knew more lore and history than anyone he’d ever encountered. Alwyn was out there right now, trying to find out more about the Box and what it was. He both wanted to hear about it and dreaded it at the same time. 

Galen wanted to tell Gideon that he knew but he was sure the Box was already aware of him and was slowly trying to poison Gideon against him. The crew had an agenda: finding the cure. Gideon had an agenda: finding out what happened to the _Cerberus_ but what was the Box’s agenda? 

That was the question. 

Galen wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. 

 

~~~

 

Chapter One – Searching 

The Ranger arrived at the hyperspace beacon as planned and he boarded the _Excalibur_. Captain Gideon saw that the young man had a decent meal and then met with him in the conference room. 

“What have you got for me?” 

“This is the latest list of planets from President Sheridan. Some of them are dead worlds that died from what we now suspect was the Drahk plague. Some are simply mysteries that could stand a closer look. They are in the order of importance as well.” 

“I recognize some of these planets. We’ll get right on these.” 

And the Ranger was gone as quickly as he arrived. 

*

Gideon sat down with Eilerson, John and Dureena to talk about their next stops. 

“This is the first planet on the list. The people disappeared at least a thousand years ago. Other than to document that fact, no one has been there in recorded memory.”

“Until now?” Max was warming up to the idea of more acquisitions for IPX, the reason he agreed to come on this mission. Or so he told himself. He’d actually been given no choice when Gideon had asked for him after they rescued him and his IPX crew from the Drakh. 

“Max, we’re not going there with the intentions of raiding it for treasure.” Gideon was used to the scientist’s annoyingly selfish way of dealing with almost everything. He simply didn’t put up with any more than he had to. 

“But if we find treasure, that’ll make it even sweeter, will it not?” Max put on his most charming smile, which was completely wasted on Gideon. 

“Whatever, but you do know what our mission is and that is what we’ll worry about first.” Gideon was used to arguing with Eilerson about every new planet they checked out. 

Matheson brought the 3D star map up and they were able to see the small planet in its surroundings. It was a tiny dot in an unremarkable solar system in an unremarkable part of the galaxy. 

The perfect place for the Shadows to perfect their horribly efficient bioweapon before unleashing it on their enemies. 

“Set a course,” Gideon instructed his bridge. 

They were on their way. 

*

Galen sat in his ship, following the _Excalibur_ , and analyzed their new destination. He had no idea why they were being sent to so many worlds. They actually had most everything they needed to fashion a cure already, the knowledge that they were fighting a nanovirus. He was positive that Alwyn could figure out how the virus was programmed and fix it in hours. 

But finding the cure was not why he was here. 

His mission was Matthew Gideon. It was not just luck that had made him pick up Gideon after the _Cerberus_ was destroyed. The Technomages had decided to leave the galaxy before anyone figured out that they might know the secrets of the Shadows or even how they knew such secrets. But Galen was one of the few who had not wanted to leave the galaxy to its fate, who felt a certain responsibility. 

And he’d been banished for it. 

Gideon was his - 

His what? 

Family? 

Yes, that would do as well as any explanation. 

He felt tied to this brash and foolish man. Gideon was all the things he was not. And some that he was. 

Stubborn, loyal, driven. 

Those he could well understand. 

He knew they’d find the cure to the Drakh plague and they’d find it soon but there were other mysteries awaiting Matthew Gideon. Mysteries more dangerous than the plague. Mysteries that none but Gideon and perhaps himself would know they were trying to solve. 

And then there was that damnable Box. 

Why did Gideon get it? Who set him up to have it? 

He wasn’t sure they’d ever know those answers. 

He sighed and closed the distance between his ship and the larger one. For now, all he had were questions. He wasn’t sure that having answers would be any better. 

*

Inside Gideon’s quarters, in his closet, sat the Apocalypse Box. Its outsides glowed as they did when it spoke to Gideon and if anyone had been near, they could have felt the almost imperceptible hum as it vibrated in the closet. 

Though it was not a life form exactly, it did have a consciousness and it had an agenda. If it had had a face, it would have worn an evil smile. 

*

Sarah Chambers was recording a message to Dr. Stephen Franklin. She had not told anyone yet but it looked as if she may be close to reprogramming the nanites that controlled the virus. She wanted Franklin to be the first to know, if for no other reason now, than she wanted to see him again, face to face. She had found him a profoundly brave man with an impossible task to perform. 

She meant to help him all she could. 

When she finished her message, she rang Dureena in her quarters and asked her to come to her own quarters. She had a question for the resident thief. 

*

Far away, Galen’s friend Alwyn sat down in a tavern and ordered himself an ale. The man he was meeting soon joined him. Alwyn motioned the bartender for another. 

The bartender brought two tankards to the table and left them. 

“So, what do you have for me?” asked the Technomage.

His companion drank the ale in one long gulp and slammed his tankard on the table. “Another!” The bartender looked to Alwyn, who nodded, and brought another one. The humanoid, for that is all one could tell about him with his hood up, drank the second one more slowly.

“It is older than humans, older even than the Minbari. Perhaps it is as old as the Old Ones themselves.” 

“What is it?” Alwyn leaned close and spoke in low voice. 

“Death. It is death to all who are touched by it.” 

“Is it a machine?” 

“No one knows but there were, maybe still are, six of them. Whenever something horrible happens, you can be sure that there was one nearby.” 

“Tell me more.” 

“I need another drink.” 

Alwyn motioned for the bartender once again. 

 

~~~


	2. Missions and Mysteries

Chapter Two – Missions and Mysteries 

Galen docked aboard the _Excalibur_ and headed for the bridge. 

“Ah, I was wondering when you’d join us.” Matthew turned in the captain’s chair to speak to Galen. 

“So where are we headed?” 

“Planet from the Ranger’s list. Dead world, same old, same old.”

“Then why are we going there?” 

“I go where they send me.” 

Galen raised an eyebrow. “Do you really?”

Matthew didn’t answer him, didn’t even look at him. 

Matheson broke the tension. “We should arrive in 47.9 hours, Captain.”

“Then I have time to get in a little B-Ball practice. Anyone care to join me?”

No one said anything but when he rose to go to the ship’s gymnasium, Galen followed, the tails of his long, black coat flapping behind him. 

Galen knew about as much about basketball as Matthew knew about magic but when the ship’s captain threw him the ball, Galen caught it rather nicely. 

“Now shoot,” Matthew ordered him. 

Galen did and actually hit the shot. 

“What’s got you so cranky?” Matthew asked him, rebounding and dribbling the ball before shooting it and missing. “Damn ball!” 

“I am not cranky. I am curious.” 

“You know way too much about everything that happens on this ship.”

“Perhaps I do. Maybe I should not ask such,” he lingered on the next bit, “unanswerable questions.” 

“Maybe not. Do you think we will find the cure on one of these planets?” 

“I think we already have the cure,” Galen said as he hit only net with his second shot.

“In that goop that Sara found? She said it only protects against the plague and only for 48 hours.” Gideon missed catching the ball as it bounced after Galen’s shot.

“No. The cure is in the programming. You know they are nanites, tiny computers. You must find a way to reprogram them so they turn themselves off permanently.”

Matthew grabbed the ball again and stopped moving, turning instead to look at Galen. “Are you saying that you are certain this is the answer?” 

Galen nodded. “Ask the doctor. She will tell you. Now I must be going. I have someone to find. I’ll be back when I get back.” 

And with that, Galen left, both the gym and the ship. 

*

Matthew wasted little time after he got cleaned up getting down to Medlab to talk to Dr. Chambers.

“Tell me something, Doctor. Galen says we have the means to cure the plague in our hands already. Is that true?” 

She nodded. “It is but since we don’t know yet how to program the virus, then we can’t cure it. Yet.” 

“Are there people who know how to program this thing?” 

“Maybe. It’s a little bit more advanced than our technology is. That is one reason we still search dead worlds or worlds that’ve had something similar. Maybe we can find someone out there who has programmed it away before.”

“Are there people on earth who can do this?” Matthew knew she was still in touch with Franklin from the ship’s communication logs. 

“I’m sure if there are, Dr. Franklin has talked with them and enlisted any help they could provide,” Sarah said. She wasn’t ready to tell Gideon all she knew yet though she wasn’t sure why. 

“This sounds like the best thing we’ve heard yet. Keep me posted and if you need anything, anything at all, Sarah, let me know.” 

Sarah smiled. “I will, Captain. And thank you for coming down here to ask. Sometimes we get so busy with all this,” she said as she motioned around her, “that we let the mission slide to edges of our thoughts.” 

“I have always counted on you to keep our perspective clear. You are the most practical and focused one of the crew.”

Sarah laughed. “No one is more focused than Max.”

“Ah but Max only focuses on how it will profit him.” 

“You might be surprised sometimes at Max.” 

Matthew laughed. “I hope so, Sarah. I surely hope so.” 

*

John Matheson knew that Gideon had the Box. He just had no idea what it was. He’d caught the captain talking to it once. He even paused as if it were talking back to him. John found that very odd. 

But not as odd as another thing he found when he went close to the captain’s chambers. 

He could hear the Box talking inside his own head. Or was it in Gideon’s head that he was hearing? He couldn’t quite make out what it was saying, almost as if it were talking through a thick filter. 

Very odd indeed. 

*

Galen flew his tiny plane to a destination that had been decided upon at a previous time. All he had to do was wait. 

He found a nice meadow and sat cross-legged in the middle of it, waiting for his contact.

He smiled when the tiny golden dragon landed on the grass in front of him and began to squeak loudly. 

“I am here,” he said to no one he could see.

“So you are,” Alwyn said as he seemingly appeared out of thin air. 

Galen rose to his feet and threw his arms around his old friend. “How are you, my friend?”

“I am well, my boy.” 

“Did you find out anything?” 

“Indeed I did. Let’s keep moving and I’ll tell you all about it.” 

They walked down to the road, chatting amiably. 

Alwyn smiled as if he were talking about his family. “The Box is one of the six Apocalypse Boxes that are known. It appears to be one owned by some very bad men. One Adolph Hitler had it until it drove him mad and he took his own life.” 

“I remember reading of him. He tried to erase an entire population from Earth in the 20th century.” 

“There are more. Many more. I have traced this particular box as far back as I can but I still can’t find who set your Gideon up to get it.” 

“Are you sure that it doesn’t make its own decisions?” 

“No. I’m not. There is some good news though. It can be destroyed but not easily. It tends to defend itself but the other five are gone. Or presumed gone. This is the only one we know of that is left.”

Galen stopped and turned to Alwyn. “Thank you for this. I am so happy to speak to someone from home, as it were, even one who was banished as I was.” 

Alwyn smiled. “I am always glad to see you too, my boy. Do try not to get yourself killed.” 

And he was gone. Galen knew only a little more than he did before but he was exceedingly glad to see one of his own.

 

~~~


	3. The Color Brown

Chapter Three – The Color Brown 

The trip to their next destination was uneventful. Nothing broke. No one seriously threatened to kill Eilerson and Dureena did not stab or rob anyone so all was well. 

It made Gideon as nervous as hell. 

He also wondered if their Technomage would catch up with them. Sometimes he wanted to smack that smug smile off of Galen’s face, but more often than not, the wizard bailed them out of certain sticky situations. He was certainly good for that.

Soon, they were orbiting the planet. It looked like a dead planet, a plain brown orb beneath them. Gideon was ready to go down there to check it out and be done with it. 

“Eilerson, Dureena, Sarah, you’re with me. John, ship’s all yours. We’ll call you if we need you.” 

And with that, they flew down to the planet in a small shuttle with several Marines as guards. 

It was as dead up close as it looked from space. Brown, brown, and more brown. They were all wearing protective suits just to be safe, even though scans indicated that it had breathable air. 

Gideon radioed the ship. “We’re here. It’s beautiful if you like brown. Where should we go?” 

“About 3 klicks to your south, there appears to be something underground. There are no life signs but there are some faint electrical signs there,” John answered. “And do be careful, Captain.” John was well aware of how reckless Gideon could be. 

They used a couple of small all terrain vehicles to make their way to the target but when they got there, there was nothing but brown and more brown. 

They scanned the surface and still had no idea how to get to the underground. They finally all took turns walking all over the ground, stomping to listen and feel for something hollow, something odd. 

“Looking for something?” It was Galen, standing on a metal door. It was brown as well. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” Gideon said his usual sarcastic way. 

“I live to serve, Matthew,” was Galen’s equally sarcastic answer as he helped the captain open the portal to whatever lay beneath them. 

Before even looking into the unknown, both men stopped for a split second as if someone touched the back of their necks. Galen knew his was probably his tech warning him to be cautious while Gideon would have said someone walked on his grave, an old earth saying his grandmother had for an eerie feeling that reason can’t explain. John would have called it the heebie jeebies. 

In any event, they both shook it off though Gideon unholstered his weapon as they began to climb down into the darkness. 

Galen followed him, then Dureena, Max and Sarah. Part of the Marine contingent followed while the other part stayed topside to guard the entrance. 

When the whole party was inside, they all switched on the flashlights on their helmets. Sarah and Max also turned on their monitoring devices. Her devices searched for life signed while his searched for other signs, signs of technology and minerals. 

“Captain, we are the only life signs here. There weren’t any on the surface either,” Sarah reported. “But on a world this color, I didn’t expect to find any life.” 

“How about you, Max? Anything?” 

Max was trying not to seem as excited as he was when he answered. “I’m picking up some electrical signs as well as many mineral signatures.” 

“What does that mean?” Gideon knew Max was trying to BS him but he wasn’t certain quite how. 

“What he isn’t telling, my dear Matthew, is that this place is pulsating with energy and, as best I can tell, large amounts of it as well many unknown mineral compounds that have him salivating just thinking about how IPX will reward him. Is that about right, Max?” Galen said as he smiled benignly at the handsome scientist. 

“I’m not sure I’d use those terms but yes, he’s right. There’s something down here and it’s not as dead as the planet seems to be.”

“So where is this ‘energy’?” Gideon asked.

“Everywhere. It’s all around us, surrounding us down here under the surface.”

Even Dureena looked shocked at his answer. 

“Does that mean we are in a ship of some kind?” Gideon asked, not caring who answered him. 

“I think not,” Galen said. “More like a laboratory or a—”

“Factory. It’s some sort of factory,” Max finished for him. He was looking down the long hall in front of them and was already beginning to move down it. 

Gideon shrugged and followed him. The hall was several hundred yards long and it was not level. It sloped downward deeper into the planet as it lengthened. The walls were the same dull brown as the trap door had been, as the floor was as well as the ceiling. Gideon decided that this place had never had any decorators sent to spruce it up the way EarthGov had done them. 

This place was not built for anyone but those who worked here to see. He wondered who they were. Or who they had been. 

The hall ended in three doors: one in front of them, and one on either side. The doors had no signs of any kind on them. 

“Which one?” He turned to his crew. 

At one time, they all said, “Middle.” 

“Middle it is.” 

Everyone drew their weapons. Gideon opened the door. The room was completely dark until they stepped inside with their lights. They looked all around the room and the only thing they found were three large crates in the middle of the floor, sitting with two side by side on the bottom and one crosswise on top of them. 

They all moved closer. Gideon walked over to the boxes and lifted the lid from the top box. The others rushed to see when he dropped it to the floor, completely forgotten. 

Inside the crate were food bars, hundreds of food bars. 

On the side of each one was a stamp. The stamp said _Good Life_. 

_Good Life_ was the name of the food bars that every soldier in EarthForce carried in his pack on away missions. Every outpost Gideon had been to stored boxes just like these, filled with food bars. 

Just like these.

 

~~~


	4. The Bunker in Brown

Chapter Four – The Bunker in Brown

 

“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Sarah asked. 

Gideon picked up one of the bars and looked it over. “Yes. This is an EarthForce base. Or was at one time.” 

“Let’s see if the energy we picked up works.” Max stepped to the wall beside the door and touched a panel that lit the nearly empty room. There were no doors in the room and nothing but the three boxes. Galen and Dureena wordlessly moved the top box to the floor while Max and Sarah pried open the remaining boxes. The second was filled with food as well, packets that were designed as combat rations and could be eaten straight out of the self heating bags. The third box contained water bottles. 

“Well, this is interesting and a little disturbing but not exactly a smoking gun of any kind.” Gideon said as he headed for the door. “Don’t forget to turn out the lights.” 

They took the door that led to the left and this time, they were led to another long, brown hallway. At the end of this were barracks, a large room with at least fifty sets of stacked bunks. All the bunks were made with old fashioned green blankets and a pillow. At the foot of each set of bunks was a double decked footlocker, opening at the top for the first level and a pullout for the second one. 

Dureena walked over and opened one of the trunks. They all joined her to see what was inside, curious to know who had lived here or if they’d left a trace. 

They had. 

The locker contained extras of the military gear but it also contained civilian clothing, and a small wooden box with a cheap ornamental lock on it. Dureena had it open before anyone saw how. 

There were photos: A dark haired young man with a smiling girl by his side, an older couple, a small child in the smiling girl’s arms. His family. A data crystal and a small stack of handwritten letters. An old fashioned ID card. 

Peter Wright. 2244 Elm St., Mintville, Maryland, Earth. 

Gideon took one of the letters and opened it. The letter was dated April 24, 2258. He began to read. 

_Dearest Pete,_

_Daddy and Mother came to the base to help us move back to Mintville. I simply don’t feel welcome there without you and without being able to say where you are when I’m asked. No one believes me when I tell them I don’t know where you are._

_PJ is growing so much and he looks just like you. He points to your pictures now and says Peep. I expect he’ll call you Pete instead of Daddy. Or maybe Peep will stick! Can’t you see him introducing you to his girlfriend someday saying, ‘This is my dad, Peep Wright.’?_

_I had a lot to write when I sat down but now I’m blank._

_I’m getting ready to have dinner at your folks’ house tonight. Jenny is back on leave from Mars and wants to see PJ. I think Hank and Mona will be there too. I sure wish you were here as well._

_I love you, Pete, and miss you so much.  
Maria _

It had an old fashioned lipstick kiss on it as well. 

Gideon looked up from the letter. “Well, we know he’s from Earth and that it was a covert operation. And it was dated 2258. I’ll have John check him on the data base when we get back.”

He dropped the personal items into his pack and turned back to his crew. “Shall we check them all?” 

“We probably should. We may find out more here than anywhere else.”

So they divided up and began to gather personal letters, data crystals and such from every footlocker. It wasn’t long before they realized that they couldn’t carry it all. Sarah had an idea though. “Let’s put the stuff in a few of these lockers or the boxes in the other room and let the Marines help carry them out.” They dumped everything out of two of the footlockers and began putting their finds in them. They didn’t take the time to read any more. 

Attached to the barracks were vibro-showers and bathrooms, as well as a gymnasium with all sorts of exercise equipment. 

“Maybe this was an op sort of the like Robert Black’s people,” Dureena said, eyeing all the high tech equipment.

“No way to know unless we find something more specific.” 

*

On board the _Excalibur_ , John Matheson was monitoring the planet and the life signs of the crew who were down there. He could see all the life signs and the energy signatures where they were. But those weren’t the only ones. Less than a klick from their location, another energy source surged to life and began building. Maybe it was the generator that powered everything in what had to be a massive underground bunker. 

Maybe not. The delicate instruments aboard the _Excalibur_ picked up something else. The ship was being scanned and the source of the scan was under the planet’s surface. They had woken someone or some thing that was curious about who was poking around in the skies above the planet. 

John contacted the Marines on the surface. 

“Tell them they’re not alone…” 

*

Gideon’s comm. link buzzed to life. 

“Captain Gideon, Lieutenant Matheson says you are not alone.” 

“Life signs?” 

“Just a massive power source and he says the ship is being scanned.” 

“Thanks, Riley. We’ll take it under advisement.” 

He turned to his companions. “You heard him. We’ve got company of some sort. Be alert and let’s move into that last door.” 

They left their boxes for the Marines to carry topside and opened the third door. Like its counterpart, it had a long hallway with another door at its end. They walked slowly, listening for signs of… well, anything at all. 

Max was ready when they arrived at the end. “I’ll do the honors this time.” 

Gideon smiled to himself. Max must think there is a huge amount of something valuable inside or he’d be cowering behind someone else as usual. 

Max ducked into the room, followed by Sarah and the others, one by one. 

The room was not a regular room. It was an underground hangar and it was massive. It wasn’t empty, either. There were rows and rows of Earthforce Starfuries and small warships; there had to be as many as a hundred. 

What had they stumbled into? 

 

~~~


	5. Beneath the Surface

Chapter Five – Beneath the Surface 

“My God! This is… what the hell is this?” Gideon said. 

No one else said a word. They moved toward the ships and began to walk among them. Each of them separately touched a ship, just to make sure they were not a mirage or some sort of trick of light. They were real. Very real. 

Over to one side were maintenance bays filled with equipment and tools. Sarah wandered into one of the bays and picked up a wrench. She stared at it and placed it back in the toolbox.

“Captain, do you have any idea what this base is?” She asked Gideon. 

“Not yet but I think we may be staying here until we find out.” 

*

Back on the ship, John was still monitoring the readings from the planet. One of the Marines had sent him scans of some of the documents belonging to Peter Wright. John had the ship’s computers checking data banks all over the ISA territories for information. 

They had also sent some photos of the ships they’d found. John had already traced some of the tail numbers on the ships and found that every one he’d checked so far was listed as destroyed in battle or lost. 

He’d feel better if they’d all come back. There was something that felt… off about this whole planet. 

*

Dureena had slipped away as only Dureena could. She went to the far end of the hangar. There had to be a way to launch these things. She felt along the wall for a doorway but found nothing. Odd. How did they get the ships out if there wasn’t some kind of opening. She was about to give up when she saw a rivet on the wall that was a tiny bit larger than the others. She pressed it and to her surprise, the whole wall began to rise into the ceiling. 

The others, who hadn’t noticed her missing, turned when they heard the doors. Gideon was by her side in seconds. 

“Slipping off again?” He asked. 

“Just curious about how they got the ships out of here.” 

“Looks like you found your answer.” 

The doors opened to another huge bay but this one was empty. The lights came on as soon as the doors opened all the way. It looked much like the landing bay inside a large starship though bigger. It was empty, all the ships being back in the hangar. It was too far to the other end to see just exactly how it opened up to allow the ships to leave. 

“There should be a control center for an operation this big,” Gideon said, thinking of the Command and Control Center on Babylon 5. “Maybe there was a tower here at one time.”

“From the looks of this place, nothing has been disturbed so I’d think that there was no tower on the outside,” Dureena said. “Maybe it rises up out of the ground only when it’s needed.” 

They explored the bay at length but found no way to open it. 

“There is obviously more to this place than what we’ve found. We’ve found no offices, no officer’s quarters, no galley. Right now though, I think we might ought to go back up to the ship. We have research to do and tomorrow is another day.” Gideon couldn’t explain his need to be out of this bunker and to leave it now. 

No one argued with him as they began to backtrack to the trapdoor they’d entered into. 

*

The trip back up to the ship was quiet, everyone absorbed in his or her own thoughts. Galen was drawing computations in the air and Max was typing away on his datapad. Dureena stared out the window and Sarah watched Galen. 

Gideon was thinking about the _Cerberus_. If there was one hidden base out here in the Middle of nowhere, who was to say there weren’t many more? Maybe one of those bases had the information he needed to find out who or what had destroyed his ship and all his shipmates right in front of his face. 

*

Everyone felt relieved to be away from the planet though the things they’d found were intriguing, to say the least. 

John had found a few interesting things as well. 

Peter Wright, according to all Earth records that he could access, did not exist. Not only did he not exist now but he never had existed. Anywhere on Earth or any of the human colonies in space. He’d looked for Maria Wright and found a Maria Connor at the given address. According to records, she was not and had never been married to Peter Wright. 

He was glad to have the away crew back onboard as well. 

Everyone went their own quarters without saying much. There was no debriefing at all. 

*

Galen boarded his ship and began doing some research of his own and found out that this planet was one that Technomages had avoided for many years, his lifetime at least. That meant there must be something about the planet that kept them away but not the base, since he was sure the base couldn’t be more than twenty years old at the outside. 

He sent a message to Alwyn with the coordinates and a question mark. Alwyn would let him know if there was anything he needed to know. 

*

Gideon sat for a long while and stared at his closet door without opening it. Could the Box tell him what he needed to know? Would it? Even though he found himself listening to it more and more, he had not forgotten the warning that it would lie to him if it suited its purposes. 

His gut told him that this place would lead him to the information he needed to find out what happened to the _Cerberus_ , but what would that knowledge cost? Was it that important that he know? 

Yes, it was. It always had been. It was his real reason for being here. Finding the cure was his assignment and he had every intention of doing just that but his motivation for saying yes to the assignment was it gave him more resources to hunt for answers. He _needed_ those answers as surely as he needed air to breathe. 

He stood and went to the closet, opening the door and lifting the last remaining Apocalypse Box out onto the table in the middle of his quarters. 

“Look deeper!” The Box whispered in a voice that was becoming more like his own every time he listened to it. 

“Deeper where? On the planet? In the information we found?” Gideon leaned forward, hoping for something more concrete. “Where?”

“Look deeper,” it repeated and refused to say another word.

 

~~~


	6. Interesting Tidbits

Chapter Six – Interesting Tidbits 

Sarah looked to see Dureena strolling into her office in the Medbay. 

“What can I do for you?” 

“I’ve been thinking about what we talked about the other day and I think when you have something workable, I’d like to go to _Theta 49_ and help distribute it to my people and to Black’s people.” 

“Have you thought about staying with them after our mission is done?” Sarah knew that these were the only other members of Dureena’s race in the galaxy. 

“I have and if they will have me, I do aim stay with them.” What she didn’t tell Sarah was the big human, Robert Black, was a bit intriguing as well. 

“Dr. Franklin has people on Earth working on programs for the nanites as well as labs all over. I have sent the program I wrote and I am going to ask Galen if he can offer us any help as well. Since Technomages work with equations, I’m hoping he’ll come up with some suggestions, at least.” 

“Have you told Gideon?” Dureena asked. 

“Just the bare bones. I don’t want to jinx it by talking too soon.” 

“And there’s something else… ”

“Yes there is but it’s something I can’t quite put my finger on,” Sarah answered after a moment of hesitation.

Their eyes met and they let the rest of the thought go by unspoken. _There was something a bit off about Gideon sometimes, something almost imperceptible but it was definitely there._

*

Max was in his quarters going through records from IPX that no one else knew about, at least no one on this ship knew. He had records of IPX bases and facilities that carried out work for the dark underbelly of many governments, Earth’s chief among them. 

He was searching for any mention of the base they’d found today. He knew that IPX had bases that appeared to be EarthForce bases on the face of them but were operations of a more secret nature all together. He also knew that IPX had worked with and for Psi Corps more than once. He was looking for any mention of them as well. 

After what seemed an eternity, he found one tiny note. IPX had delivered some mining equipment to a base in this sector about twenty earth years ago. That would be about the time the underground airbase was built, according to Galen. 

But what was the base here for? 

None of his searches showed any more information though he was sure there was more there. It looked as if he’d hit the ceiling of his clearance level. He seldom looked too deeply into things because of two things. One was that if he snooped, he left virtual footprints and the other was that it was just safe sometimes not to know too much. 

Funny, he’d thought he had one of the very top clearances in the company. He’d have to check into that as well. 

*

Matheson was going through the cartons of personal items the landing party had brought back from the bunker. He was entering names and addresses into his datapad. As with Peter Wright and the Starfuries, hardly any of these men existed either. A few were dead, with dates that couldn’t possibly place them here. Some were listed as having lived and died before his grandparents were even born. 

He found another box of letters. He opened one and began to read.

_Jeff,_

_I wish you could tell me where you are, I get all antsy thinking of you out there in some unknown place. It might have been better to take the Sleepers than to join the Corps as old as you were when you went in. Some of those teeps have been there since they were infants._

_We’ve been hearing some strange rumors back here… very strange rumors._

_Take care PLEASE!  
KK_

Alarm bells clanged in his head now! He remembered some rumors of experiments on teeps when he was a young trainee before the wars, something about using telepaths to run some sort of technology that was different from the high tech ISA ships that Sheridan flew. 

If only he could remember… but nothing else would come to him. 

*

On Earth, Stephen Franklin was analyzing some slides of the nanites. They appeared to be dead, as if they’d finally been turned off. This was a first. Now if they’d stay that way, he might have the beginnings of a cure.

He knew that all they had to do was reprogram the virus to shut itself off. It sounded so simple but nothing had worked for very long so far. If it continued to reprogram itself as quickly as it had so far, Earth was just the first of many planets that it would destroy. 

He was determined to stop it before things went much further. The program that Sarah Chambers had sent him was working so far. 

He composed a message for Dr. Chambers, sent it and went to bed. His sleep was fitful at best. He dreamed of shadowy things moving low over the green fields and leaving complete darkness in their wake. 

*

Deep inside the brown planet, an automated communications array lit up briefly. No one would have noticed even if there were anyone there to see it. They’d have thought it was a trick of the light. 

But it wasn’t. 

Its message went out to the party that it was meant for. Someone very far away read the message and a very pleased smile crossed his face. 

*

Galen watched them all from inside his little ship. He could see them and hear them if they spoke but he couldn’t read their minds. That skill would be very handy about now.   
Everyone seemed to be settling down to sleep for now. It was about time he did the same. 

He turned out the little light and spoke to his little ship. 

“Lights out. Goodnight.” 

 

~~~


	7. Things Are Not What They Seem

Chapter Seven – Things Are Not What They Seem

The next day brought a flurry of activity onboard the _Excalibur_ as crews began to go through all the other materials that they’d hauled up from the planet below them. Oddly enough, there wasn’t a trace of DNA or a fingerprint in anything they had, not even the personal letters written on actual paper. 

It was all very suspicious. 

Captain Gideon called a meeting in the conference room. They all sat around a round table much like the one in the Arthurian legends from Earth, the same legend that their ship’s name came from. Gideon had often wondered if it was named the _Excalibur_ because it searched for truth or simply because it looked like a very long sword…

“Okay, gang, what do we have?” 

“Mystery and more mystery. According to records, all the ships in the hangar do not exist, most listed as lost in battle or crashed. Of the people whose IDs I have, none of them exist either,” John reported. 

Gideon made a wry face, his trademark one, and steepled his fingers. “That means one of two things then, the people were erased from all the databases because their mission is so secret or they really _never_ existed at all and were just made up as a cover to keep nosy people like us from looking deeper.” 

John hadn’t even thought of such a thing. He felt his skin crawl at the thought. He decided to mention one more thing. “One of the letters mentions the recipient being a telepath and belonging to Psi Corps.” 

There was an audible sound among the others at that news. No one had fond memories of Alfred Bester and his Psi Corps. Especially not Matheson.

Max spoke up next. “I found records of a shipment of mining equipment delivered to this area by IPX about twenty years ago. That’s all I found.” 

“What are you so angry about?” Sarah asked him, noticing he was visibly upset. 

“I—nothing. It’s nothing.”

“Sarah?” 

“I—there’s nothing for me to check… no DNA, no anything. My gut feeling is that this is all some elaborate hoax but to what end? Did we get this lead from Earth?” 

“This one came from the Rangers.” 

“It would seem that we’ve been sent here to find this place but why?” Sarah asked.

“We have the resources to look into things and an excuse to do so as well. If the Rangers looked into it that might cause some questions,” Gideon answered. “In any event, I think we need to get back down there and see what else we can find then get out. I don’t have a good feeling about this place. It feels too much like a trap.” 

Galen strolled into the room at that time. Gideon nodded to him. 

“Got anything to add?” 

Galen shook his head. “I have sent out inquiries.” 

No one wanted to ask to _whom_ he’d sent inquires. 

“Well, then, let’s get back down there. I think we’ll take a few extra Marines this time,” Gideon finished, ending the meeting. 

*

They, of course, found things to be exactly as they’d left them. Searching inside the bunker they’d already found proved fruitless as they found no more hidden doors or rooms. Finally they all went back to the dusty surface to begin again. 

They rode across the surface on their all terrain vehicles with no luck. John guided them to an area more than ten miles from the bunker. He’d picked up some energy readings from this area. All they needed to do was find the opening. 

Not an easy task. The ground was still brown and dry. By coordinating with Matheson in the ship, they pinpointed the energy signature but still saw no sign of a trapdoor. 

Galen was not with them this time, having said something about meeting with an old friend yet again and zipping away before anyone could try to stop him. 

*

Alwyn had come halfway to meet him. “I didn’t think we’d meet again so soon. We may be noticed if we keep this up.” 

“Then we shall have to be a bit more careful. I am sorry but I wanted to talk of this in person. What did you find?”

“First of all, there _was_ no population to be exterminated on that planet. There never was a population at all. Not one a thousand years ago. Not one ever. Second, I can’t find anyone who’s ever heard of a base there. My source is pretty reliable that Earth certainly has not had a base there.”

“I think it’s a dummy base put there to fool someone but I’m not sure who. Whoever did it has access to lots of Earth records but that’s not a hard thing to do,” Galen told him.

“Any Technomage can do it. I expect any teenager can do it as well, if he or she is technologically inclined in the least.”

“Any ideas, guesses?” 

“I think that answer is on Earth.”

“So who sent us there?” 

“I expect you will find that out soon enough. The person who sent you there obviously wants something. He will reveal himself when he thinks the time is right.” 

Galen nodded. “So how are you?” 

Alwyn smiled at him. “I’m still making golden dragons, my boy. Your captain still talking to that box?” 

“I think so but it didn’t send us to that planet.” 

“You do know that you’ll have to choose who you serve at some point?” Alwyn reminded Galen in a rather stern manner

“Who have we ever served?”

“You and I? I like to think we serve truth,”

“Perhaps we are deluded.”

“My boy, you and I are abominations but sometimes even monsters strive to do good.” Alwyn touched his glass to Galen’s and smiled. “Besides, what else have we got to do these days?” 

They drank.

“Now go on back to your captain and help him figure out who he serves as well.” 

*

Somewhere hidden away from prying eyes, the person who received the message from the communications array in the bunker boarded a small ship. The ship was outfitted with much more weaponry than anyone would expect from a ship of its size. It also had a vast array of advanced surveillance and communication equipment. 

“Are we ready?” 

The captain of the ship nodded. 

“Let’s go then. I’m looking forward to this.” 

 

~~~


	8. Peter Wright, Who Are You?

Chapter Eight – Peter Wright, Who Are You? 

After a few more hours on the brown planet, they gave up and went back to the ship. Gideon was angry with Galen for running off like he had. He was angry with himself for depending on the Technomage as he had come to do. He stomped off to his room to brood.

Or talk to the Apocalypse Box. 

*

Sarah went to visit Max Eilerson. She probably knew more about him than anyone on the ship. And he knew how much she knew. 

“So how are things going for you, Max?” She sat down on his sofa in his very elegant and very comfortable quarters. 

“For the first time since I went to work for IPX, I feel that I’m not very important to them.” 

“Why is that?” She leaned forward, truly curious. He’d given up his wife for IPX and they’d never let him down before. He was the perfect employee and they knew it. He had delivered on many occasions. 

“When I tried to find out more information on this sector, this planet, I ran into a brick wall.” 

“Maybe there wasn’t any more to find out.” 

“No, that’s not it. I—I thought my clearance was near the top at IPX, that I was privy to nearly everything. But this, this was way above my clearance. I hit a wall. It’s there. I just have no access to it.”

Sarah understood. To Max, this was like finding out your best girl was seeing someone else. Sarah reached out and touched his arm. Max let her comfort him though he’d probably have bitten anyone else’s hand off. He trusted her more than nearly anyone. She’d been there for him when Cynthia was threatened on Babylon 5. She’d understood when that young soldier had died for him as well. Sarah was one of the few people he actually considered a friend. 

“Max, I think this mess might end up being something you’re glad you know little about.” 

“I’m afraid so too.” 

“Max, any company would be lucky to get you. You can probably write your own ticket back on Mars.” 

Max looked at her and smiled his most aggravating smile. “You’re right. I am the best.” 

Sarah laughed and rose. “I guess I need to get back. I’m expecting some news from Dr. Franklin.” 

“How is the search for the cure going?” 

“Well, I think. I’ll be able to tell you more in a few days.” 

Max raised an eyebrow. “Indeed? You’re that close? I had no idea.” 

Sarah gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You can buy me a drink when we find the cure and I’ll tell you all about it!” And she was gone. 

*

Matheson was still going through the boxes of ‘personal’ items they collected. The more he looked, the more he agreed that these men had never existed at all. Everything was too pat. The clothes were clean. The grammar was right in the letters. Nothing was _missing_. Nothing added up but he had to go through it all nonetheless. There might be a clue hidden somewhere, like a needle in the proverbial haystack. 

With each box, he went through the paperwork first then the personal items. He laid the paperwork out to check later and sorted the items. They were pretty much the same: uniforms, one set of civilian clothes, toiletries and nothing more. No books, papers, nothing indicating that any of the men did anything but work. 

He took all the letters from home and read every one. There was not another mention of telepaths or the Psi Corps anywhere. That had to be significant. But was someone warning them off or was someone looking for them? 

He realized he should tell the captain but he wanted to go through all of the information one more time, to see if there were more clues. He began going through the other boxes one more time.

In the bottom of the last box of clothes, sort of tucked under the other clothes, he found another clue: a pair of the black leather gloves that telepaths wore when the Psi Corps still existed. He felt a cold chill run down his spine. There was one man in the galaxy that those gloves represented more than anyone else. That man was Alfred Bester. 

*

Max was determined that he would find out more about what IPX was doing in this sector. He hated being bested and he had many skills, computer skills among them. Hacking into secure systems was not a problem for him but he feared that he might leave enough of a trail that would lead back to him. 

He thought about it for some time and finally decided that he could make his little incursion look like it came from anywhere and the somewhere he chose was Centauri Prime. No one was ever surprised at duplicity and spying on their part; it was apparently hardwired into their natures. Besides, who was going to complain to them?

He set to work. 

In less than two hours, he was in. Once there, he had to decide what he wanted to see. He began to run any and all reports of anything in his sector of the galaxy. He came across the twenty year old report of mining equipment. It must have been used to build this place because there were no mines of any sort in this sector at all. 

Was the mining equipment used to build the bunkers? 

Or was that simply a cover for something else all together? 

He dug some more and found that there were many, many shipments of all sorts of things: equipment, food, medical supplies, everything they would send to a large excavation site or to a military base. 

Well, they seldom contracted since they were in the expedition business themselves so that meant they had perhaps had their own operation here. What had they been doing here? 

Looking further, he saw that the base had never been resupplied after the original run. 

He was getting nothing else so he typed in a couple of the names of men whose belongings were in the bunker. Peter Wright was first. 

When the name finally came up, it had ninety-nine other AKAs. He called Matheson and had the names of the men in the bunker sent to him. He began to check and each name from the bunker was an alias of Peter Wright. 

There was only one person who’d been in the bunker. 

Or was there anyone at all? 

 

~~~


	9. Gideon's Choices

Chapter Nine – Gideon’s Choices 

Matheson and Eilerson both went to Captain Gideon and gave him their findings. He listened then ran his hand through his longer than regulation hair and looked at them. 

“Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that there was no one down there? That there never _was_ anyone there?” 

“It looks that way, sir. It looks as if this base was placed here to send whoever found it on a wild goose chase, a chase that can never lead anywhere,” Matheson said. 

“Max? You agree with this.” 

Eilerson nodded. 

“Then where do we go from here?” Gideon was angry but he wasn’t sure who his anger was aimed toward. Certainly not John or Max. Who was doing this? And why?

Matheson cleared his throat. 

“Come on then. Out with it,” Gideon said. 

“I think that someone will contact us and let us know. Maybe we should just hang out here for a few days and keep our eyes and ears open.” 

“Why do you say that?” Gideon arched an eyebrow as he asked. 

Matheson held up the pair of black gloves. “There were in the bottom of one of the boxes from the living quarters.” 

“Are those what I think they are?” Max asked, reaching out and taking the gloves, bringing them closer to his face.

“Yes, they are telepath gloves,” Matheson said and before he could finish, Max finished for him. 

“Like the ones Alfred Bester wore all the time?” 

“Yes. Like Bester wore.” 

“And you’re saying what?” Gideon was leaning toward them now, his face a mixture of incredulity and anger. 

“We don’t know what we’re saying, Matthew,” Max said. “Something is clearly going on but what it is, is not yet clear. We can wait a day or two or we can leave and not look back. That, dear Captain Gideon, is clearly up to you.”

Gideon looked rather sourly at Max. “Indeed it is, Mr. Eilerson. I will take it under advisement and let the two of you know.” 

Realizing they were dismissed, Max and John left the captain’s office. 

Dureena joined them from nowhere. “What’s going on?” 

“We’re not sure yet,” Matheson said. 

“Did you tell him it’s all a fake?” she asked in her matter of fact way.

Eilerson stopped. “How do _you_ know that?” 

“Max, did you notice that I was gone for over half of the time we were down there?” 

“Not that much but yeah, I did see you slip away once.” 

“Well, I explored every bit that I could find and there were too many things missing. Like a waste disposal system. Humans can’t go without one of those.” 

“And?” Max asked. 

“And what? There’s nothing down there, nothing that will cure the plague.” 

With that, she turned and marched away. 

Max shrugged. “Women!” 

Matheson smiled. 

*

Dureena was in the Medbay in seconds. 

“Why is Gideon wasting our time here?” She ranted.

Sarah looked up from the work she was doing. “What makes you say that?” 

“It’s a dead planet with a fake military base. How can it help us?” 

“I’m sure—” 

“No, you’re not. You know as well as any of us that Matthew Gideon is still more obsessed with finding out what happened to the _Cerberus_ than anything else in his life, the cure included.” 

“I know but I trust him, Dureena. He really is as dedicated to finding the cure as he is to finding his answers.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes. I am and you already know how close we are. I don’t think that there is much that Gideon can do to affect the outcome either way at this point in time.” 

“I’ll wait two more days then, I am done. I’ll force him to leave here if I have to.” 

Sarah nodded. “He is no fool, Dureena. Trust him.” 

Dureena looked hard into her eyes. “I trust _you_ but that’s as far I’m willing to go right now.” She left as abruptly as she’d arrived. 

Sarah let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. She wondered sometimes at Matthew’s priorities as well but he’d shown himself a good captain so far. That was all she could ask for. 

She decided to check her messages. There was a video from Franklin. 

He stood in his lab, talking to the camera. 

“Sarah, I hope things are going well with you. I wish I were out there among the stars. As a zenobiologist, I love traveling out among all the species in the galaxy, not being cooped up here on this poisoned planet in this lab.”

He smiled. 

“But I digress. I have some good news. The dead nanites are still dead. I—I’m afraid to be too excited but it’s possible that we have found it. My next step is to try it on a live subject. Even though the virus is not activated, the nanites are still active and busy, making sure they’re attached to every system that keeps us alive.”

He stopped and cleared his throat. 

“I am sending you copies of everything down to the last detail from my end because I have decided that when the time comes to test it, I will test it on myself. If you have all the data and something happens to me, then you can carry on from where I left off.”

He smiled, a little embarrassed at the drama, Sarah guessed. 

“Anyway, I will send you all the info and I’ll let you know when I decide to do it. You take care, dear Sarah. I hope to meet you again soon and to be able to sit at a table and have dinner with you. Will you do me that favor when this is all over?” 

Sarah sat very still when the message ended. She had only met him one time but she liked Dr. Franklin—Stephen. She liked him a lot. She checked her inbox and saw that there was a huge file from Franklin as well. His research. 

She turned on her recorder and began to speak. 

“Dr. Franklin, I’d be delighted to have dinner with you. I know this wonderful little restaurant on Babylon 5 that has wonderful breen, unless you’d rather have spoo?” 

* 

Galen sat in his ship and thought about what he knew so far. There was no way short of killing Matthew that would keep him from digging into this mystery. No way at all. He might be able to influence the captain if he could do something about that infernal Apocalypse Box. 

The Box had to go. 

*

In Gideon’s closet, the Box hummed and in as much as it thought at all, it was planning a way to get rid of that bothersome man with the machines in his body. He was making things more difficult than need be. 

 

~~~


	10. More Questions Than Answers

Chapter Ten – More Questions Than Answers 

Galen was becoming frustrated. Alwyn was finding nothing in any of his searches. The planet had always been a dead one. The base that Galen’s captain had found did not exist. The Rangers could not have sent them there but if not them, then who was the young man who delivered the message? 

Alwyn did have an answer of sorts for that one. The boy _was_ a Ranger but his ship had made an odd little detour near the Rim. There were four hours unaccounted for in his ship’s logs. 

Galen was willing to bet that the Ranger had no clue that he was even missing any time. 

He went to Gideon with his findings this time. He decided that this one was a mystery for the captain. 

“Are you sure about this?” Gideon looked up from his chair on the bridge. 

“I am.”

“May I ask what your source is?” 

“You’ve met him,” Galen told him.

“Your Technomage friend, Alwyn?”

“The very one. It seems that while most of the order was hiding, Alwyn was out gambling and enjoying the company of pretty women and he made more than a few friends high up in the military on Earth and other places as well.”

“He has something on them and they give him information to keep him quiet?”

“That would be my guess. Sound like a kindred spirit?” 

“Sounds like he wins more than I do.” 

“Perhaps. Maybe he cheats better than you do.” 

“So, who, in your opinion, is behind this?” 

“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say someone wants you to find something and is leading you but who it is, I’m not sure about. If I were to guess, I’d say a telepath.” 

“To what end?” 

“I think _that_ is what you’re meant to find out.” 

“We need a hint of where to go. Is it possible that whatever it is, is hidden here on this planet?” 

“I’d say no but if not that planet, we have very little to go on. So yes, it was hidden. I think the things you’ve found _are_ the hint.” 

“Thank you, Galen. I know I get irritated too often but I do appreciate your help.”

Galen nodded and left the bridge. 

*

Matheson still had not stopped searching a second and third time through all the boxes of things from the planet. He had even sent Dureena and the Marines down to search for more, even the smallest slip of paper or a discarded cup or plate. He was working like a man possessed. 

The second sweep had yielded little but there had been a cup in one of the bathroom waste bins. He was analyzing it now for anything at all. Why would anyone leave a single cup in a single trash can in a fake base unless they wanted it noticed?

It was manufactured on Earth, sold to various companies and government agencies: EarthForce, IPX, Mars Dome, Psi Corps…

That narrowed it down but not by much. 

But there was Psi Corps again. 

There were fingerprints on the cup as well but they did not match anyone living. They matched a telepath from many years ago and a rogue one at that: Fiona Dexter. Matheson remembered that she was a Resistance leader killed by Psi Corps many years before he was born. 

This meant something but what? 

The DNA was matched to a person descended from Fiona Dexter but he didn’t remember reading that she had children. 

It had to do with Telepaths then. That was becoming obvious. But that was all that was obvious so far. 

*

Dureena was lighting a candle in her quarters. She knew she was the only one on board who knew how close they were to the cure. She was beginning to think that she and Sarah were the only ones who cared as well. She wanted to deliver the news to her people, to save them from the plague that had already wiped out everyone she’d ever known. 

A tear slipped from her eye, a rare occurrence for the hardened thief, but it was not a tear of sorrow but one of hope, something she’d felt little of since her father sold her into slavery. Maybe she could build herself a life on _Theta 49_ with her own race. 

Or maybe with Robert Black. He was one of the only people she’d ever met who seemed to understand how she felt, to understand her loss and pain. She’d never wanted to have a mate before but he stirred something in her she’d never thought to feel. 

She blew out the candle. She was being foolish and sentimental, a luxury no thief could afford.

*

In his lab on Earth, Stephen Franklin injected himself with a concoction that contained millions and millions of nanites. Each one was programmed to reprogram the Drakh nanovirus already in every part of his body. He just hoped they worked. 

Nothing felt any different but he hadn’t expected it to. All that he could do now was wait a few hours and check his blood for the first time. 

* 

Gideon had gone to his room to consult the Box. He locked his door and opened the closet, removing the Box and setting it on his table as he was doing more and more these days. 

He opened it. 

It glowed but said nothing. 

“What do we do?” he finally asked. 

“Galen must go,” it said in a voice that sounded scarily like his own.

“I can’t get rid of Galen. He’s a big help to us.”

“Don’t trust a Technomage. Galen must go.” 

“Where should we go?” 

“Find a small, black ship. Destroy it. Kill Galen. He must go.” 

“Do you mean Galen’s ship?”

“Small, black. Blow it up.” 

Gideon sat down in front of the Box. He was frustrated with its cryptic answers, but he was more afraid of the clear ones. He couldn’t kill Galen. 

Could he? 

*

Galen was not far from Gideon. He was right outside his door, as a matter of fact. He was listening to the conversation going on in the captain’s bedroom. 

So the Box wanted him gone, did it? That must mean that it was onto him. Or maybe it just meant that it was evil and wanted to make Gideon do evil things. He wished he knew more about the dreadful thing. 

He did know one thing. He could destroy it. He was built for destruction and if that’s what it took, then that’s what it took. 

 

~~~


	11. The Beacon and the Dead

Chapter Eleven – The Beacon and the Dead

Eight hours had passed and Stephen checked his blood. The nanites were dormant. This was promising. He would check again in eight more hours. 

He poured himself a cup of coffee and smiled at the message that Sarah Chambers had sent him. He knew some good restaurants on Babylon 5 as well, one that even served edible spoo. 

*

Galen debated for most of the night whether to tell Gideon about the Ranger and his lost time. In the end, he decided that his stray starship captain needed to know. 

“Matthew, a word,” he said as he strolled onto the bridge. 

Gideon nodded and followed him to the conference room.

“Someone interfered with the Ranger and the message he gave to you.” 

“What do you mean, interfered?” Gideon was in a foul mood, Galen noted. The Box was beginning to wear on him, making him short tempered. 

“I mean that somewhere out near the Rim, your Ranger lost approximately four hours of time. There is no record on his little ship of what happened to him or the ship during that four hours.” 

“And you think this was—that someone intercepted him to make him send us **here**? There’s nothing here.” Gideon sounded exasperated.

“The lack of anything being here is a clue itself. Someone wanted your ship to come here and here you are. They wished us no harm or we’d all be dead by now so they must want something from us or want us to _do_ something.”

Gideon sat very still for a few moments, thinking and running through it all in his head. “Supposing this is true, then why haven’t they shown themselves?” 

“They will or they will tell us where to go next to find them.” 

“We do have a mission, you know,” Gideon reminded him. 

“Yes, we do and I believe your Dr. Chambers and her counterpart on Earth have about accomplished that mission.”

“You think she’s that close?” 

“I do. If you wait to see who is looking for you, you might find the answer to your questions as well.” 

“My questions?” 

“Matthew, you know as well as I do that your main reason for coming on this mission was to search for the truth about why your shipmates died on the _Cerberus_.”

“I want to find out where that ship came from. It looked like a Shadow ship but it wasn’t quite the same. I still believe that our ship was destroyed because we’d seen it. But who was behind it?” 

“That is what I think you might find out eventually if we follow this path.” 

“Very well then. What do we need to do?” 

“Wait. We wait.” 

Gideon was good at many things but waiting was not one of them. He blew out a breath and finally said. “Okay. We’ll try it your way for a few more days.” 

Galen nodded and smiled slightly, then left with his coat flapping behind him. 

*

A small ship was meandering slowly toward a rendezvous with the _Excalibur_. The ship itself was black, almost as black as the Shadow ship that Gideon had once encountered but it was not made of the same material. This one was made of a light absorbing metal that only made it seem invisible in the sky. 

Its lone passenger smiled to himself. Wouldn’t everyone be surprised to see him?

*

Gideon was back in his own quarters, thinking about Galen. Was Galen trying to steer him toward destruction? Was the Box right? Its previous owner said it lied sometimes. Was it lying now? 

Did Galen have some dark purpose in mind when he’d rescued him all those years ago? 

It did seem that the Technomage argued with him an awful lot but maybe that was just his way. What if it weren’t though? 

He stood abruptly, put the Box away, and headed for the bridge. 

Inside his closet where not even Gideon could hear it, the Box whispered, “Soon.” 

*

“Captain, I’m picking up a distress signal on the long range sensors.” 

“Identify?” Gideon turned in his chair to look at John.

“Not a known configuration. It’s very small, sir.” 

“How far?” 

“Ten hours and thirty-four minutes.” 

“Chart a course, 

“Aye, sir.” 

*

Everyone was tense as they made their way to the ship, not knowing if it was a legitimate distress call or a trap to ensnare them further into this deepening mystery. Gideon headed to the gym to shoot baskets while Sarah recorded a new message for her sister and her niece. Dureena rode the bullet car and sharpened her knives. Galen was in his ship, analyzing the beacon. Matheson was on the bridge and Eilerson was reading an ancient text from another one of their dead end planets. 

The time passed slowly but soon, they were approaching the origin of the beacon. 

At first, John thought it must just be a small pod with a beacon on board then he finally was able to see the ship on his screen. The cameras mounted outside the ship showed a tiny black ship with a white emblem emblazoned on the side. 

The emblem of Psi Corps. 

“Sir, get up here. I think you’re going to want to see this,” he messaged the captain. 

Within minutes, Gideon was on the bridge. 

“This better be good. I was about to win a game of one-on-one.” 

John hid his grin. Matthew was terrible at basketball and everyone but him seemed to know it. 

“Take a look.” John showed him the ship. 

“Is that what I think it is?” 

“Yes, sir. A black Psi Corps ship. I didn’t think any of them were in existence any more.” 

“Any idea who is on it?”

“I’d have to guess Mr. Bester,” John said, with all the dread he felt at seeing such a thing. A full sized Shadow vessel wouldn’t have scared him any more. 

“I thought he was dead.” 

“So did I but Mr. Bester has many tricks up his sleeve.” 

John was terrified of Bester. He remembered him in his young days at Psi Corps. He had worshipped him as had many other young teeps until he met the woman in the cell, the one he was to give Sleepers to, the one he allowed to destroy Psi Corps headquarters. He knew then what a tyrant Bester really was and how all people, both telepaths and non-telepaths, should fear a man like him. 

“Bring him aboard. Let’s see who it is for sure,” Gideon ordered. 

“Aye, sir.” 

 

~~~


	12. Bester's Visit

Chapter Twelve – Bester’s Visit

Matheson hailed the ship. 

“What is your emergency?” 

Nothing. He repeated the message and still no answer. He looked to Gideon. 

“Use the tractor beam and bring the thing on board. Send a security team down to guard it until we get there,” Gideon told him. “Tell them to shoot to kill if anyone comes out of that thing.”

Gideon was going down to see who was on the ship alone but everyone followed. Even Galen had come out of his ship to see what transpired. 

The security detail was standing outside the tiny black ship with weapons drawn when Gideon got there. The doors opened and a rather small man came down the steps. He was in his late sixties at least though his hair was still black and he wore the uniform of a defunct order. 

Alfred Bester smiled and looked at John. “Why, Lieutenant Matheson, I didn’t know this was the ship you were serving on.” 

Matheson nodded, swallowing his fear though not his loathing. “Hello, Mr. Bester.”

“What is the nature of your emergency, Mr. Bester?” Gideon asked, his sarcasm shining through. 

“I knew of no other way to get onboard the ship and you have a reputation for never ignoring a distress signal so here I am.” He was still all smiles though everyone there knew how dangerous he was, if not from actual experience then from reputation. 

“What do you want?” Gideon asked.

“I would like to take you all on a journey.” 

“To?” 

“You’ll see. I’ll give Matheson here the coordinates when we get to your bridge.” 

“This better be good, Bester. How do you know we haven’t already called Mr. Garibaldi? I hear he’ll pay a good price for your head,” Gideon asked him. 

“You want to know why I’m here. You have a mystery you want solved and I think I might be able to help you. So it’s up to you, isn’t it, Captain Gideon?” 

“One chance. You get one chance to impress me then you’re out of here.” 

Bester smiled his sweetest smile. “Of course, Captain.”

Gideon and the Security detail escorted Bester to the bridge. 

John threw up his shields but Bester was strong, too strong for John to keep him out. Bester sent him the coordinates he’d promised Gideon. 

“Captain, your First Officer now has the coordinates.” 

Gideon nodded to Matheson. “Aye, sir. Course is set to Mr. Bester’s destination.” 

“So are you going with us, Mr. Bester?” Gideon asked their unwanted guest. 

“At least part of the way, Captain. I might decide to let you have all the glory. Not sure I want to see Mr. Garibaldi yet. He doesn’t seem to like me very much.” 

“So I’ve heard.” 

*

Galen had made himself scarce since that abomination had come aboard. If his kind had been born to Chaos then Bester had been born to Order, both of them puppets of the Shadows and Vorlons. Absolutes of any kind were evil and Bester represented the pinnacle of evil among his people. 

He could feel the buzz from the telepath’s mind as it probed the ship. With his tech, he could block it but Bester had to know he was aboard anyway. Not much had ever gotten past that one. 

*

Bester looked around. “You have a Technomage onboard?” 

“And this would be your business why?” Gideon was ready to shoot the older man, had been two minutes after meeting the condescending little creep. 

“I am not fond of Technomages.”

“As I’m sure they’re not fond of you. But then is anyone fond of you?” 

“Touché, Captain Gideon. You don’t seem to have much respect for authority.” 

“And what authority would it be that _you_ have, Mr. Bester?” 

Bester laughed, which made Gideon hate him all the more. 

They arrived at a small solar system in two days time. It had a small sun with seven planets. Their destination was a moon of the third planet. They set up orbit above the large moon, an orbital body at least as big as Earth in their own solar system.

“So what are we looking for?” Gideon asked Bester. 

“You’ll know it when you find it.” 

“And what will you be doing?” 

“I’m actually going to leave right now. You don’t want anyone to know where you got this information, do you?” Bester smiled as he headed for the exit.

“What information?” Gideon shouted at Bester’s back as he left to bridge to go to his ship. 

“Shall I stop him, sir?” Matheson asked. 

“He’s right. Whatever is here is here and we don’t want his name tied up with it or no one would ever believe us.”

A few minutes later, the tiny black ship left the _Excalibur_ behind and headed out into space. 

Gideon turned to Matheson. “Would you like to go on an away mission this time?” 

Matheson nodded. 

Gideon took Matheson and Dureena with him down to the moon’s surface. John found that when Bester left them, he planted a set of map coordinates in his mind so that’s where they landed. 

The moon was mostly dry but it was not without life. There were a sort of hardy plants and some small desert animals there, scurrying away as Gideon’s trio approached. They walked toward what appeared to be a mountain but when they got closer, they saw that it was really a large facility with windows and massive doors hidden in what only looked like a mountain. 

“I can’t say what I was expecting but this is not it,” Gideon whispered as they all brought their weapons to the ready. 

They moved closer to the large doors and saw that they were protected much like the doors on the ice planet where they’d rescued Natchok Var. Just as she did then, Dureena made short work of the coded lock and they slipped into the huge building. 

The lower part of the mountain was a hangar and in it sat a ship that Gideon had seen only once in the real world and every night since then in his dreams. He stood there, just inside the large doors and stared, his mouth hanging open. 

“What is it, sir?” Matheson asked. 

“It’s the ship.” 

“The ship?” Matheson wasn’t following. 

“The ship that I saw that night, the shipped that killed the _Cerberus_. That is it. Where the hell has Bester sent us?” 

 

~~~


	13. Shadow Mountain

Chapter Thirteen – Shadow Mountain 

Galen simply appeared as he usually did outside the building. He slipped in the open door just as Gideon said, “The ship that I saw that night, the shipped that killed the _Cerberus_. That is it. Where the hell has Bester sent us?” 

He knew what it was, had seen it before. He also knew it did not come from the Shadows who had made the tech running through his own body. 

“I see Bester has given you an unexpected gift, Matthew.”

Gideon turned on him, fury as well as fear in his eyes. “How the hell do you know?” 

“I assume this is the type of ship you encountered the night I found you in space.” 

”You assume or you’ve known all along?” 

“I have suspected. Leave it at that for now. This is not the time for explanation or recriminations.”

“That time will come though. Be sure of that.” 

Matheson and Dureena stood transfixed, staring at the hybrid shadow vehicle. “I heard rumors but I never believed them,” Matheson whispered.

Matthew whirled on Galen. “These ships are EarthForce?” 

Galen nodded. “I believe you will find that to be true.”

“But what…” 

“EarthForce has a side as dark as the Shadows themselves and your ship blundered into a staging area, I believe. There was no alternative but to destroy it. No one wanted anyone to know of this. You were not supposed to live.”

“How do you know this?” Gideon challenged. 

“That is also story for later. What do you plan to do?” Galen asked.

“What can we do? If I report it, someone will make sure that I don’t survive this time. If I destroy it, then they will have won, won’t they?” 

“Perhaps we should explore the base further, see what else is here.” 

Gideon ground his teeth and turned to Matheson. “Let’s see what other treats they have hidden here for us.” 

Matheson nodded. 

They walked through the hangar to a set of stairs that led up into the mountainous building. The first floor was a massive lab, replete with machines, test tubes, and an all white décor. They stepped into one of the labs. There were instruments laid out on tables as if they were about to be used. At one end of the room was a large tanklike box filled with random sized pieces of the telltale smooth black material that covered all Shadow ships. 

Galen said nothing but it was exactly like the ridges of black tech that ran up and down his back, a living technology that had been grown on living, breathing beings in a lab very much like this one. Were they making hybrid Technomages here as well? 

“What are those?” Matheson pointed to the small pieces of living metal. 

“Those are biotechnology, the material that living ships are made of,” Galen explained.

Dureena gave him a hard look. She’d gotten a quick look at his tech once and she knew, but she said nothing. Her eyes told him that he would be telling her all about it later. Or else. Galen had great power but he still feared an ‘or else’ from Dureena as much as any sane man would. 

“Matheson, take some of this for proof.” Gideon motioned to the tank.

“No!” Galen shot his arm out to stop Matheson from touching the smooth, black rocks. “You might wake them if you touch them.” 

What he didn’t say is if they were awakened, they might decide Matheson was a perfect host for them and begin to attach themselves. 

Gideon was angry but he backed down, not willing to take a chance on something that Galen obviously knew more about than he did. “Let’s look some more.” 

They looked through the lab, finding more of the black metal but no one dared to touch it after Galen had warned them off. They found an office off the lab and went inside. 

Matheson sat down and began to access the computers. There was very little there. He came across a list of names. One of them was familiar: Carolyn Sanderson. Who was she? 

When it hit him, he turned as pale as if he’d seen the dead. 

“Captain, this list, one of the names… she’s a rogue telepath, Carolyn Sanderson. There was a rumor that Mr. Bester was—that’s why he sent us here.”

“Explain, Matheson, so far you’re talking in half sentences.” Gideon was never patient and this place was trying what little patience he did have. 

“There is a list of names here on the computer. One of them is Carolyn Sanderson, a rogue telepath who was rumored to be a favorite of Mr. Bester. If you remember, the Shadows used telepaths to pilot their ships though pilot is a not a very good word for it…”

Galen finished for him. “They used telepaths as brains in the living Shadow ships. The telepaths did more than pilot, they blended with the machine until the two were one.”

“So whoever this base belonged to was going to use telepaths to pilot their ships as well?” Gideon asked. 

Galen nodded. 

“Is this base dead then?” Gideon asked Galen.

“It would seem so but Bester has a motive for bringing you here, I believe. Perhaps he wants this news to come to light on earth.” 

“Send all the data to the _Excalibur_ and let’s finish this tour. This place gives me the creeps.”

Matheson nodded and began to transfer the data. 

They began to explore more of the now deserted base and found more leftover metals. There were handwritten but unsigned notes that Sheridan had hit Ganymede and they’d better get out fast. There were names of scientists, some who were still living on Earth and had never been implicated in the Clark Conspiracy to kill President Santiago and take over Earth with the use of Shadow technology. 

“We need to get these names to John Sheridan. He, if no one else, will see that proper means are taken to punish or at least bring those involved to justice,” Gideon told them.

“But, Captain, President Sheridan is not that easy to contact,” Matheson reminded him. 

Gideon smiled for the only time that day. “You forget. Elizabeth Lockley is his ex-wife and she and I are… friends.” 

“Friends? Well, I think we should contact your friend as soon as we get back to the ship.” 

“You and Dureena go back. Galen and I are going to make a photographic record of what is here.” 

 

~~~


	14. The Technomage

Chapter Fourteen – The Technomage

As soon as Matheson and Dureena were gone, Matthew turned to Galen. 

“Tell me what the hell is going on! You knew all this time?” 

Galen looked around. “I thought we were getting a record of all this?”

“We’ve got plenty of time. I’m the damned captain. They ain’t gonna leave me. Now you need to tell me what is going on.” 

Galen took a calming breath and let it out. “How much do you want to know?” 

“All of it.” 

“Then we need to find a comfortable place to sit. The story is long.”

Matthew pointed to one of the lab chairs and sat down in another. Galen sat and looked at him. 

“Are you familiar with the fact that the Vorlons did something to many races to make telepaths among them? Even humans.”

Matthew nodded. 

“Well, Technomages were made by the Shadows as servants as well. We were taught that Chaos is the answer to everything and that by creating Chaos, we serve those who made us. But my people decided they did not want to serve evil so they developed their own order and made up rules to govern the behavior of Technomages.

“Over many years, the knowledge of where we came from and our true purpose came to be hidden. Only the highest in the order knew where our tech came from. It was shrouded in mysticism and mystery. 

“But the truth came out when some of our order joined with the Shadows in order to gain power or so they thought. Isabelle and I were sent to stop them but Isabelle was killed, murdered. I was furious and lost control for a bit.”

Galen stopped, lost in thought. He could almost hear her whisper to him. 

“This was about the time that your President Clark plotted to kill then President Santiago. A secret group in EarthGov was working to develop Shadow hybrids on planets remote enough that no one bothered to look for them. However, John Sheridan found the one on Ganymede… and the war began.

“My people decided to go into seclusion. I did not agree but we were on the way to do that when by some strange quirk of fate, your ship happened to be in the exact place that a Shadow hybrid was and saw it. The secret group felt the only thing they could do was destroy you all to make sure no one said anything.

“It would have worked too if you had not been outside, if I had not been passing by with the others of my kind. I could not leave you. I picked you up and took you to _Omega VII_. The rest you know.” 

“So my own government killed my shipmates?” Gideon was nearly as incredulous as he felt like he should have been. 

“I believe so.” 

“Were they using human telepaths?” 

“Yes, they were. So were the Shadows. This is why Bester hates them so much. The woman on the list Matheson found was indeed Bester’s lover and she was sent out here to be used on a Shadow ship but many of the rogues were sent here to pilot secret Earth ships.” 

“And you? What are you then?”

Galen took a deep breath and removed his coat then unbuttoned his shirt. He dropped them both to the floor and stood, turning around so Matthew could see the rows of black Shadow technology than ran the length of his back. 

“God damn,” Gideon whispered. He stood and moved closer to Galen. “May I touch it?” 

Galen nodded as Matthew touched the small, living stones that were wired into Galen. 

“Do they hurt?” 

“Only when they join with you. Then they become part of who you are. I am a cyborg, Matthew. I am part man, part living machine. My power is not illusionary magic. My power is very real.”

Gideon stepped back and looked at him. 

“I don’t know what to say or what to think. I’m furious that you’ve known this but I understand that it was not something you could tell me. So what do we do now?”

“Let’s get some evidence for Sheridan and get off this planet. I think there is little danger but we might wake something ugly here and I’d really rather not do that right now.”

They recorded as much as they could, the ship, the files, the base… 

And they left the surface, going back to the _Excalibur_ in Galen’s little ship. 

*

Gideon did not explain any of what Galen told him to the rest of the crew, not even John. He needed some time to absorb it. He was still angry with Galen but grateful as well that he finally knew the truth and that Galen was able to fill in all the blanks. 

He went to his quarters with no intention of talking to the Box but as soon as he sat down, it called to him. 

“Don’t trust him,” it whispered, more clearly his voice now.

“Not that again.” 

“He lied.”

“He’s not lying now.” 

“How do you know that?” It mocked him in his own voice this time. “Blow up the base and tell no one.” 

Gideon sighed and pushed the Box back into the closet. He tried to tell himself that it lied but sometimes he believed it no matter what it said. He often worried that he’d let the Box steer him into a wrong choice but so far, so good. He’d had good hunting in the places the Box sent him. He certainly couldn’t say that much with the Rangers or Earthgov. 

*

Galen knew that Matthew was talking to the Box again. It was as if the Box knew he was listening in too. It seemed to want him to know it was there, whispering to Gideon about things he knew nothing about. 

He hoped the thing knew that if it posed too much a threat to the captain or the crew of this ship, he’d make sure it never attached to anyone else. He knew the Shadows had been selfish and unbending but this Box was worse, much worse. He could sense nothing in it but malevolence, pure, dark evil. 

It was not Chaos the Box was after but destruction. And it didn’t seem to care much what was destroyed. 

 

~~~


	15. Robert Black

Chapter Fifteen – Robert Black 

Gideon sent a message to Elizabeth Lochley on Babylon 5 with the bare bones of his story about the secret base they’d found. He was prepared to go to Babylon 5 to talk to her about it. 

Sarah came into his office. “Captain, I’ve heard from Dr. Franklin and he tested his findings on himself and, so far, the nanites have become inactive. The nanites he treated in the lab are still inactive as well. We believe this is a cure though we can’t guarantee the long term outcome, we believe that the body can be purged of them if they’re inactive for a long period of time, just like sloughing off skin cells.”

Gideon stared for a moment before saying anything. “A cure? Where do we go from here?”

“Well, we need a test population.”

“We promised several worlds we’d return if we found a cure.” 

“Yes, we did but only one has humans,” Sarah reminded him. 

“ _Theta 49_.” 

“Since we left them no way to communicate, we must go there to them.” 

“Can we treat Dureena’s people as well?” Gideon asked.

“If they will allow it. I think that perhaps we only take a very limited number down to the surface since our supply of viral shielding is not infinite.”

Gideon rose and took Sarah’s hand, then pulled her to him for a very uncharacteristic hug. “I knew you were the best.” 

“The credit goes Dr. Franklin. He developed the cure from my program. I’m just the tester.” 

“I know that he only was able to do so with your knowledge and input as well.” 

Gideon headed for the bridge.

“Set a course for _Theta 49_. We may have the cure for the Drakh plague and we’re going to ask Robert Black if he’s interested in becoming a guinea pig.” 

Matheson smiled. Finally some really good news! “Aye, Captain!” 

Dureena was in Medbay when Sarah got back from Gideon’s office. 

“Am I going to be allowed to go to the planet?” She asked.

“Of course. I don’t think your people will deal with me without you. I don’t think Robert Black will either so you’re the liaison between the ship and the inhabitants.” 

Dureena smiled, one of the rarest sights on the ship and they’d seen some very rare things in their travels. 

Sarah looked at her a moment then asked a question that she’d had on her mind ever since she’d found out that Dureena had been sold into slavery by her own father. 

“Why do you even want to be with people of your race after what your own family did to you?” 

Dureena said nothing for a long while. “I think every person longs to be where they belong, where they are like everyone else. That may not be an ideal situation but sometimes it’s better than always being on the outside looking in. I feel that way here, like I’m only tolerated for what I can bring to the group.” 

Sarah nodded. “Many years ago on Earth, my people were enslaved as well because of the color of our skin. I had thought that the people of the galaxy would have advanced past that but it still exists out there.” 

* 

In the several days it took to get to _Theta 49_ , Sarah spent her time preparing the nanites that would reprogram the Drakh virus and stop the plague. They actually dropped out of hyperspace several times so she could send a message to Dr. Franklin and await his answer. 

When they finally did arrive at the planet, Sarah and Dureena prepared to visit. First, they would visit Robert Black then the settlement of the _Zander Prime_ natives. 

The only people who went down to the planet were the doctor, Dureena and their pilot. They found Black’s camp quickly. 

Dureena was almost embarrassed that her heart rate sped up when she caught sight of the giant human. He was sitting by a rolling stream, fishing pole in the water and his attention all on his pleasurable chore. 

“Mr. Black?” 

He reached for his weapon even before he turned his head. 

“Dureena? What are you do—did you find a cure?” 

“Dr. Chambers and Dr. Franklin believe so. We came here to ask if you want to test it.” 

Black put his fishing pole down and approached the woman. He’d thought about her a lot since he’d met her. She was quite beautiful and she had the spirit of a warrior inside her tiny frame. He’d hoped she’d come back someday. 

Robert Black did something he thought he’d never do after he lost Emma; he picked up Dureena and kissed her full on the lips before she had a chance to get away. To his utter surprise, she kissed him back if only for a few seconds before she pushed at him and said, “Put me down this instant!” 

He did as she bade him. 

“What was _that_ about?” She didn’t sound nearly as indignant as she meant to. 

“I missed you. I—forgive me?” 

“Maybe,” she grudgingly agreed but Black was not fooled. He felt her arms tighten when he kissed, felt her melt against him even if for only a second.

“You need to have Dr. Chambers meet with the rest of my people, to explain and then we vote. We still do most things by vote here.” 

*

Sarah Chambers just finished explaining how the cure would work to the enhanced humans who had escaped from Earth just in time, but who had been poisoned purposely by the very men who made them with plague introduced through their food packets. 

“How can we trust you?” Tim was always the skeptic. 

“What do you have to lose?” Dureena asked. 

“Our lives.”

“You’re going to die anyway in less than five years so again, what do you have to lose?” 

The others spoke out in agreement with Dureena. 

Black stood up and held up a hand. “We will vote. The vote does not have to be unanimous. Majority wins. Period.” 

He turned to Sarah and Dureena. “May we have some time to discuss this and to vote?” 

“We’re going to find Dureena’s people, to ask them if they will let us help them as well,” Sarah said. “We’ll return as soon as we can. Good luck.” 

 

~~~


	16. The Vote

Chapter Sixteen – The Vote 

The village was much as it had been when they’d visited before. Dureena’s people greeted her as if they’d known her forever. The head woman and village shaman, Kareela, smiled and embraced her. 

“My child, you are back among us! Have you good news?” 

Dureena bowed to the rest of the tribe and gestured to Dr. Chambers. “Remember that Dr. Chambers promised to rid you all of the germs from the Drakh? She and her friend, Dr. Franklin, have found that cure. We have come to offer it to you and to the humans here as well. We are sure that it works but it has only been tested on Dr. Franklin, who was infected on Earth along with all the people on the planet.”

“But we are not yet sick,” the woman said. 

“My planet died from this plague… and they were not sick at first but once one person became sick, the planet was a wasteland in a few months. I wish you to survive. I wish to live among you for many years,” Dureena said, surprising the head woman with her passion.

“We will cast the stones tonight as the moon rises,” the woman announced, accompanied by agreeing murmurs from the people surrounding them. “May we get a favorable answer from the gods.” 

Dureena bowed to her. “I will stay no matter what the stones predict.” 

*

Robert Black knew how he would vote. He never planned on going back to Earth no matter the outcome but he would like a life long enough to offer it to the alien woman. He had liked her before, liked her enough to think of her often. Now that she was back, he wanted to know her. And to know her for many years to come. 

“So what do we do?” He posed the question to the rest of his companions. 

“How do we know they are not lying to us?” Tim asked. 

“We don’t but they saved us before. Why would they kill us now?” 

“That’s true and they did that even after I’d taken the doctor hostage,” Tim conceded.

“I vote we take the vaccine. The worst that can happen is we might die sooner. We’ve been living on borrowed time since we got here anyway.”

After a rather small amount of debate, they all agreed that they’d take it. 

Things did not go as smoothly in the village. At moonrise, Dureena was invited to watch as the stones were thrown to determine their future but the stones advised them not to take the cure. 

“You do realize that you are condemning the others, the humans to die as well?” Dureena asked. 

“Perhaps they will not catch it again.” 

“They will catch it again and one by one they will die just like you will. Are you going to let a god who saw you sold into slavery tell you all to die?” Dureena was furious, her eyes flashing like a cat’s in the light of the fire. 

“It is our way, child.”

“Then maybe it is why you are the last survivors of a whole planet!”

“We only know the old ways.” 

Dureena looked at the faces around the fire. “Do you all want to die? To watch your children die?” 

One by one, they began to shake their heads no. 

“Perhaps you should throw the stones again? Maybe you read them wrong.” 

Kareela looked at Dureena and then all her people. “Tomorrow we will fast and pray and tomorrow at midnight, we shall read the stones again and perhaps this time, we will get a better answer.” 

Everyone agreed, voicing their approval loudly. 

Dureena just hoped the woman found a way to interpret the next night’s session better than this one had been. 

*

Back on Earth, Stephen Franklin woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding and he felt sick, feverish. 

Surely he hadn’t actually activated the plague by trying to kill it! 

He rushed to his lab and drew blood, then hooked up several monitors. His respiration and blood pressure were high though he had no fever. He made himself a cup of tea and waited for his bloodwork results to be ready. 

He also agonized over telling Sarah it was all right to begin testing the cure on the people of _Theta 49_. What if he had doomed them all to a quick death? Damn! 

The indicator dinged that the results were back. He dreaded looking at the results. He steeled himself to look and took a deep breath and let it out. 

Nothing. The nanites were still inactive and he had no indication of any disease or illness at all. 

He let out a long breath and sat back in his chair. He’d been a victim of worry and anxiety over the nature and scope of what he was doing. His and Sarah Chambers’ work could save or doom an entire planet! It was no wonder that he became panicked now and again. 

He decided to record a message to Sarah since he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep for a long while. 

_  
Sarah, _

_Tonight I woke in a cold sweat and feared the plague had indeed come back but it had not. I was merely panicked over the gravity of the work we are doing. I wonder what you are doing right now. I expect you are planetside with Dureena Nafeel and I am praying to any god who will listen that all goes well._

_My best,  
Stephen _

* 

Dr. Chambers and Dureena were on pins and needles all day the next day. Their protection against the virus should last long enough for them to stay until the vote but if not, their ship was on standby to rush them to the _Excalibur_ and bring them back to begin the process of curing the Drakh plague. 

They busied themselves with different things. 

Dr. Chambers checked the children of the village for proper development and childhood diseases. They were all very healthy except for the plague they all carried. She did remove a few splinters and sewed up a cut or two. One young man had a broken leg but the shaman had done a perfect job of binding it so it would heal straight. 

Dureena met with Kareela then headed to the human village to spend her day with Robert Black, helping him chop wood and even going fishing with him. It was one of the best days she remembered. 

As it got dark, she made her way back to the village to await their fate with them. 

 

~~~


	17. The Stones Speak

Chapter Seventeen – The Stones Speak 

Dureena was surprised when Robert Black sat down beside her. She knew that he often consulted with the leader of the village. It made her like him more that he came for this, whether it was in support of his own people or her. 

She was even more surprised when his large hand covered hers. He smiled when she looked over into his face. She was surprised even more to feel her face smile back at him. 

The headwoman brought out the traditional stones and after some ceremony, she threw the stones. The entire village was gathered around but there was not a sound from anyone, not even the smallest baby. 

“The stones have spoken. The people of this village are free to decide by vote. If we do not agree, then we are cursed. So be it. The stones have spoken!” 

Murmurs were heard but no one spoke aloud, to agree or even to disagree. 

“We will vote by stone. Tomorrow morning, all houses will vote, including the house of the Earth warriors. Go now, discuss and decide.” 

They all did just that until there were only three people around the fire: Dureena, the headwoman and Robert Black. 

“Did the stones really say that?” Dureena asked when she was sure all the rest were out of earshot. 

“Yes, my child. The stones always tell us the right thing to do.”

“They changed their mind?” 

Kareela smiled. “The stones _always_ tell us the right thing. You must learn this if you are to be the headwoman someday.” 

Dureena nodded. So did Robert Black. 

She left the fireside with her hand still held by Robert Black. 

*

Everyone onboard the _Excalibur_ was on pins and needles. No one had heard much from Sarah or Dureena since they’d gone planetside. Galen wanted to go down but he wasn’t sure how he’d be received by either the humans or by Dureena’s people. 

Besides, he needed to be here right now in case the Box decided to drag Gideon in a different direction. He felt the Box would move soon to influence Gideon to do something, something disastrous if history were any indicator. 

*

The move came earlier than anyone thought. 

Gideon had been holed up in his quarters all morning. When he came out, he had an odd look on his face, like there was no one home. Matheson saw it but said nothing. He knew about the Box as well but not the particulars. He didn’t like it any more than Galen did but Matthew was his superior so he said nothing. 

“Matheson, I think we need to cut off all communication with the outside as of right now. Also, set a course back to the Shadow moon. It’s time we dealt with that.” 

“But sir, what about Dr. Chambers and Dureena?”

“We don’t need them for this mission.” 

“We can’t—”

“We can do whatever I say we can. Anyone who wants to argue with me can report to the brig.” 

Matheson nodded. “Yes. Sir.” 

Galen heard the exchange but he never stepped into the room. He hurried to his ship and left the _Excalibur_ before Gideon thought to close the doors to him. 

He contacted Dr. Chambers and told her what had happened. 

“What are we going to do?” She sounded both scared and very angry.

“Give the people the cure if they want it. How much longer do you have until you catch it?” 

“Not long enough but they’ve not even decided to take it yet.” 

“Well, you can cure yourself if need be.” 

“Can you contact Dr. Franklin?”

“Yes, I will send a message to Earth. And Dr. Chambers?”

“Yes?” 

“Good luck!” 

And he was gone, the tiny black ship slipping away in the black sky. 

*

Dr. Chambers let Dureena know what was happening. 

“Did you know about this box?” the doctor asked. 

“I may have seen it once or twice.” 

“Do you know what it is?” Sarah knew that the captain acted a bit odd now and again but not having known him long, she didn’t know if he was behaving differently than his usual self. 

“I asked some old friends from my thieving days and one or two of them could identify it. They called it a Doomsday Box or an Apocalypse Box.”

“What is it?” 

“That they didn’t know but death and destruction follow it.”

“Where did he get it?” 

“A card game. Where else?” Dureena shrugged. He couldn’t beat her at cards but she cheated. He did too but she’d not quite figured out how yet.

“Anyway, we’re on our own, either way. If our immunization runs out, we’ll be infected as well.”

“Then we’d better pray the cure really is a cure, hadn’t we?”

“I’ve been doing that all along,” Sarah said. 

*

Galen contacted Franklin and left him a message with the barest of details. No need to alarm the government of Earth yet. They had a tendency to make rash and stupid decisions now and again. 

He did contact John Sheridan on Minbar, sending as many details as possible. Sheridan could be a hothead but he would do what was right in the end. 

He chased Gideon back to the world Bester handed to them, still wondering how the telepath had found it. He’d put nothing past Bester. The little telepath might have even worked with the shadowy government group that had built the base. 

The base itself certainly did remind him of the one at Z’ha’dum. He shivered at the thought of that place with all its poor victims, people who were used solely to grow the tech he carried in and on his body. Or the poor creatures like Morden or Anna Sheridan, who’d had their own personalities stripped away and replaced with insane devotees of the Shadows and their doctrine of Chaos, like his own people had begun. 

He knew that he must destroy the Box. What Gideon and his Box had come back for, he did not know yet. 

 

~~~


	18. The Players Move into Place

Chapter Eighteen – The Players Move into Place

General Thompson was in his office on _Ceti Gamma 2_ when a message came in to him. Thompson was the same man who’d ordered Black’s people to be infected with the plague. 

“What the hell do you mean? That Matthew Gideon is being a pain in the ass again?”

The person on the line said something brief. 

“Well, shoot the damn thing down. He nor anyone else has any business near that base. Protect the base and make sure no one is left to talk about it.” 

He rung off and sat behind his desk, fuming. Didn’t these damned fools know that he did what he did for the good of everyone on Earth? 

At Thompson’s order, several destroyers were deployed to S Base, as the secret Shadow base was referred to, their mission was to intercept and destroy the _Excalibur_. 

*

A message came into John Sheridan’s office on Minbar. He just happened to be there to take it. It was normally a time that he would be having dinner with Delenn and getting ready to help put little David to bed. Something had made him hesitate to leave, made him hang around a little longer. 

“You have one call waiting, ” his comm system told him. 

“Put it through.” 

“The _Excalibur_ has found a secret base that was apparently used to make Shadow hybrid ships. General Thompson on Ceti Gamma 2 has dispatched a fleet to intercept them and destroy them.” The caller was using a device to change his voice but Sheridan was sure he knew whoever it was or why else use the disguise? 

He called Delenn and asked her to come out to his office as well. She said she’d put David to bed and be there as soon as possible. 

“What is it?” Delenn said as she rushed into the room. John filled her in. 

“What should we do?” John asked her. 

“We can send the Whitestars.”

“The caller didn’t tell me where the base is.”

His computer spoke again. “Incoming coordinates from last caller.” 

“Can you tell me where the last call originated from?” Sheridan asked. 

“That information is not available.” 

He looked at the coordinates on a star map when he got them downloaded. 

“Galen, the Technomage on the _Excalibur_ sent a message earlier as well. I wasn’t sure what to make of it but it seems Matthew Gideon is on some wild chase back to this station.”

“We can send the Whitestars now.”

“I think we will wait for a bit to go ourselves but a fleet of ships ought to get someone’s attention, either Gideon or Thompson,” he told her. 

So the Whitestars were dispatched.

* 

On Mars, Michael Garibaldi removed the voice changer from his communication device. All this and that damned Bester had slipped through his hands again. He’d get the little bastard if it took all his life to do so. 

Right now he was late for dinner with Lise and that simply would not do. 

*

The _Excalibur_ was heading as fast as they could travel to the S Base. Galen was still trailing behind them. He had not heard back from Sheridan but was sure that the president of the ISA would act to stop the destruction of the _Excalibur_ , if nothing else. Galen believed that the Shadow base needed to go as much as his crazed captain but had no desire to see Gideon or any of his crew die simply because of that infernal Box. 

*

Space travel is fast but not instantaneous and all the ships were a matter of days out. The situation on _Theta 49_ was critical. Dureena and Sarah would soon be exposed to the Drakh Plague as their barrier would wear off at the 48 hour mark. 

It was also time for the villagers to decide which path they’d choose: to take the cure or to live as they had been until the virus killed them. 

Dureena was on pins and needles. She wanted these people to choose life! She wanted to be with them, to be among her own once again. 

Kareela gathered them all at dawn and they voted by placing a white stone for yes and a black one for no into a large clay container. Children over the age of six were allowed to vote as well as all the adults. The voting was a quick and solemn process as each person picked a stone and dropped it into the jar. 

Dureena had tried to count them for awhile but it was simply too hard as there were lines on either side of the jar. She sat back and watched until the lines were finally ending. 

Kareela approached her. “You must come and cast your vote as well, my child.” 

“I’m not a member of your village though.” 

“You are a member of our race and we consider you one of our own.” 

Dureena approached the jar and chose a white stone. She dropped it into the jar and peeped in while she did. There were many white stones but a fair number of black ones as well. 

“Now, I would ask Robert Black to cast the vote for his people and ask that Dr. Chambers count the stones and inform us of our decision.” 

After Robert Black voted, Sarah rose to her feet, bowed to the headwoman and began the task of counting. She sat down and began to count, first the black ones then the white. 

A young girl brought them tea and bowed as she set the cups on the table. 

It took about half an hour to sort the stones then count them but when she was done, Sarah recounted quickly then nodded to Dureena and Kareela. 

“What did we choose, Dr. Chambers?” Kareela asked. 

“There were twice as many white stones as black so your people have chosen the cure. Congratulations.” 

Cheering rose even among those who’d voted no. Sarah had brought all the vaccine to the planet on their ship. Black’s people helped unload it and they set up a small clinic in Black’s settlement to make sure that all got the cure. Robert Black and Kareela were the first to receive it. 

Everyone else followed. They were careful to count and make sure all were given the nanites then Sarah gave a shot to Dureena and the medical officer from Black’s crew gave Dr. Chambers her shot. 

Then they celebrated life. 

 

~~~


	19. Fire in the Mountain

Chapter 19 – Fire in the Mountain 

The _Excalibur_ arrived at S base first. Gideon took his Box and headed down to the moon all by himself. No one tried to stop him. Galen came onboard the ship as soon as Matthew was away. 

“I have let Sheridan know what happened. Is everyone all right?” 

“We’re fine but I think we are in over our heads here.” Matheson answered. 

“I’ll go down to the moon. Keep in touch if you can.” 

Galen flew down to the planet and landed right beside Gideon’s shuttle. He got out and saw Gideon heading for the bunker. 

“Matthew! What are you doing here?” 

“Doing what we should have done when we were here before.” 

“Is that your mission? Do you realize you left Dureena and Dr. Chambers to catch the plague on _Theta 49_? You could be court marshaled for this.”

“I don’t care about that. I’m doing what—”

“What the Apocalypse Box told you to do?” 

“How do you know about that?” 

“I heard you talk to it. I’m a Technomage; very little gets by me.” 

“Just what is a Technomage?”

“I am an agent of Chaos. One who has repented his sins and seeks atonement.”

“Then your finding me wasn’t an accident?” 

Galen had answered the question before and didn’t plan on a detailed answer now any more than he had given one then. 

“Yes and no. We were leaving so we could not be used for evil and because we did not want to be involved in your wars. I saw you and couldn’t let you die.”

They heard ships far up above them.

“It would seem we have company.” 

*

The captain of the Whitestar Flagship hailed the _Excalibur_. “We have come to offer assistance.” 

Matheson reported to him. “Our captain is on the moon but no one else is—”

Several Destroyers came in through jump points all around the planet and they began to fire on the _Excalibur_. The Whitestars went after them, lighting the sky around the moon. 

Down on the moon, Galen and Gideon watched the white burst of fire from the ships and heard the sound of their mighty weapons. 

The Whitestars made rather short work of General Thompson’s fleet though they disabled rather destroyed the ships. Boarding parties took each ship into custody and contacted Sheridan back on Minbar for further orders. 

Gideon turned his attention back to the hangar and he headed toward the opening. Galen followed. 

“Leave this place, Galen. You don’t need to get involved _now_.”

“I have been involved since I picked a certain Ensign out of the sky.” 

They went down into the bunker. Gideon began to pull small explosives out of his pockets. They were quite powerful despite their size. 

“Why are you doing this?”

“The Box. It says I should finish here. I should have died with the crew of the _Cerberus_ all those years ago and now I plan to join them.” 

“The Box just wants you to die. It kills – that’s what it does. It feeds off of death and destruction. It wanted you to doom Dureena and Sarah. It wants you to die so some poor fool can find it in these ruins and give it a new home and more death to wallow in.” 

“How do you know?” 

“That’s what it does. On your Earth, Genghis Khan had one, so did Hitler. It was reluctant to leave men like that but space offers even more opportunities for death on a massive scale. The Shadows were not the only enemies out there.”

“Blowing up this place is a good thing.” 

“Maybe so but your dying isn’t a good thing.”

“I’ve been living on borrowed time all along,” Gideon said as he headed into the mountain base. Galen rushed him and took the Box. He ran into the hangar and closed the door, barring it to Gideon. 

“Go back to the ship,” he shouted through the thick doors.

Gideon felt lightheaded and something else. Free. The Box was no longer his. He ran to his shuttle and lifted off in it, heading back to his ship. He had some explaining to do. 

*

The Box talked to Galen, telling him that he was doomed and that it alone could save him. It told him that everyone was against him and he only had the Box left to depend on. 

Its spell didn’t work on Galen as he took it into the large hangar with the hybrid Shadow ship. Galen placed the Box beneath the ship then he walked to the front of the ship itself and put his hands on it. 

He could feel life humming in the organic metal. His own tech crackled in answer to it but that was not his purpose. He was going to do to this base what he and the Whitestar explosion had done to Z’ha’dum. 

He began to conjure the destruction spell, drawing his power into a shape that he could send to the Box, to the ship. He knew that he could make the explosion big enough to take down the mountain and maybe even the moon itself. The size of his spell was almost limitless.

He relaxed and let his power grow; he thought of Isabelle and his love for her. He thought of his parents, Elric… all the ones who had gone before. He thought of Matthew Gideon, the soul survivor who’d felt horrible guilt every day of his life because he had not died with his shipmates. 

The floor began to tremble as his tech sought and found power sources, explosives, anything he could use to fuel his fire, his revenge. The air began to crackle with lightning inside the building. He pulled in more power, more, more until he thought he would combust too. 

He could feel the ship begin to break apart, felt the metal scream with rage, pain as he moved out of its way, moved toward the doors. He saw the Box blow apart as he opened the door and hurried out into the open, running for his little ship, which was waiting and ready to lift as soon as he was aboard. 

As he rose into the sky, the whole mountain shook and then the top of it opened and fire exploded out of it, collapsing it onto itself in a great ball of flames. 

He flew up to the _Excalibur_ and did not look back. 

 

~~~


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue 

The Drakh Plague was cured. By the time the _Excalibur_ came back to Earth, they were a legend already. They were met with parades and interviews and the star treatment. Sarah never took any credit in any of the interviews; she always gave it all to Dr. Franklin. 

Sheridan had General Thompson drummed out of the service and arrested for smuggling, black marketing and most importantly, treason, which sent him to a penal colony in Botany Bay, Australia. He would spend the rest of his life there. 

* 

Sarah had arrived with Gideon at Babylon 5 just hours ago. He’d disappeared with Captain Lochley. Sarah thought it was funny that they both were sure no one knew about their ‘friendship’. 

She wandered through the restaurants in the Zocalo.

“Sarah?” 

She turned to see the smiling face of Stephen Franklin. She started to shake his hand but found herself hugging him instead. 

“I’m so glad we could finally meet this way. I’m ready for that spoo! Are you?” He was all smiles and he looked so good to her. 

She nodded and let him lead her to the little restaurant she remembered from another trip to Babylon 5 a few years before. 

In the years to come, seldom did one see one without the other as they traveled the galaxy together. 

* 

Max Eilerson was back home on Mars. He visited Cynthia and Mr. Kitty first thing. Cynthia had been glad to see him, so glad in fact that she asked him to move back home. He was considering it. 

He had tendered his resignation to IPX and decided to go to work as an archaeologist for Mars University. The position was very prestigious and the pay was adequate as well. 

“So you’re not rich anymore?” Cynthia asked him when he told her. 

“Oh, yes, I’m still quite wealthy. We won’t have to worry about cat food for a few years.” He smiled his most annoying smile and pulled her into his arms. 

*

Dureena Nafeel had a bit of a hard time getting used to furniture that was so high. She liked it all near to the ground but since she moved into Robert Black’s small house, everything was tall to accommodate his size. 

She was surprised when Black came in with a new table for their house, one with short legs and cushions to sit on. 

“What’s all this?” 

Black grinned at her. “I can sit on the floor as well as the next guy. If it makes you happy, then I am happy too. Don’t think I’ll give up my big feather bed though.”

Dureena moved closer to him, close enough to rub against him. “I wouldn’t dream of giving up your bed either.” 

He lifted her into his arms and carried her to his big feather bed, where he showed her how much he liked both the bed and her. 

*

The ISA Explorer class ship _Beagle_ was not nearly as grand or as big as the _Excalibur_ but John Matheson didn’t care one bit. He was the Captain, the first telepath Captain of a ship and he’d been given the promotion and commission by President Sheridan himself. 

“Set a course for Deep Space Beacon 7,” he commanded his first officer. 

“Aye, Captain,” the female telepath answered as she did just that. 

“I’ll be in my office if you need me, Fiona.” 

*

“So are you going to join the rest in hiding?” Alwyn asked Galen as they drank beer in some out of the way pub on some out of the way planet somewhere near Narn.

“No. I think I shall wander about for awhile. I’d like to see some more of the sites of this universe while I can.”

“Would you like a rowdy old companion then?”

“Only if he promises to create those lovely little demons if we’re pestered by anyone.”

“I think he’d agree to that.”

“Well, let’s be off then, shall we?” 

And they took off to parts unknown though there were rumors of a pair of meddling wizards far and wide for many years to come. 

* 

Matthew Gideon had bought himself a car. It was a few hundred years old and it had been converted from its ancient internal combustion engine to a modern efficient one but it still looked and even sounded like a 1966 Ford Mustang, a Shelby Mustang at that. He’d paid as much as he made in a year in EarthForce for it but money wasn’t a problem anymore. 

Not since they’d returned to Earth with the cure. Everybody wanted to give him things, buy him things and he’d resisted for awhile, sure that he’d never let fame change him but finally he’d given in. 

He’d granted several interviews, smiled and shook lots of hands as ‘this week’s hero’ then he’d bought his car and set out to disappear into the American continent and find Matthew Gideon again, whoever Matthew Gideon turned out to be. 

For the first time in many years, he was looking forward it. 

The End


End file.
